Ohio, Pennsylvania lead way in northern NFL draftees

Published May. 20, 2015 8:10 p.m. ET

Marcus Hartman

It's been a given lately that NFL teams looking for top talents will inevitably find the most in the South, Texas and California, but which states are the best of the rest?

Scout.com compiled the number of players taken in the 2015 NFL draft by where they played in high school and came up with an answer that is not too surprising: Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Ohio was sixth overall with 10 selections in the 2015 draft while Pennsylvania tied North Carolina for seventh. The latter two states had nine picks each while Maryland and Illinois rounded out the top 10 with eight and seven pics, respectively.

Florida, Georgia, Texas, California and Alabama formed the top five.

Given the total population of Ohio and Pennsylvania -- not to mention the historic popularity of football in both states -- it makes sense they rank in the top eight.

The state of Maryland's presence in the top 10 is also a hint of why the Terrapins were added to the Big Ten. That a good talent base resides within the state is hardly a secret even if it has not translated into a lot of success on the field for the school in College Park over the long haul.

Perhaps adding the Big Ten brand will help -- unless it makes raids by the Terps' new conference brethren easier to pull off.